Preparations

When you think you are almost there, something always pops up.  Like all of us who are ageing, we need a little more TLC as time goes by.  Narama soon to hit the big 40 years is no exception.  In fact it was during that TLC we were giving her that I found the hairline crack in the baby stay fitting.  Until the stainless steel was nicely polished the crack was invisible. In the photo I have widened it with a little leverage, not something I should have been able to do by hand.  So what would have happened had I not seen it and it broke at sea?  Well at best we would see it go and re-secure it in some fashion after reducing sail quickly.  At worst I guess we could lose the mast if we were really pounding or sailing hard.  Moral of the story is there is more to brasso than vanity! Any way, I am off to the welders.